Sound, fury fit a pattern, says senior U.S. general

Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman suggests war is not imminent despite overheated rhetoric

Associated Press

Published 9:58 pm, Friday, April 5, 2013

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin

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FILE - In this March 28, 2013 file photo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey gestures while speaking during a news conference at the Pentagon. The top U.S. military official says North Koreas bellicose rhetoric, including threats to attack the United States, follows its decades-long pattern of provocation followed by non-violent accommodation. Dempsey said Friday the situation is worrisome, given the stakes. But he suggested that it does not appear to point toward war. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) less

FILE - In this March 28, 2013 file photo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey gestures while speaking during a news conference at the Pentagon. The top U.S. military official says North Koreas bellicose ... more

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin

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A protester holds a candle during a rally denouncing the annual Foal Eagle, South Korea and the United States joint military exercise, near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. North Korea has been railing against U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began in March and are to continue until the end of this month. The allies insist the exercises in South Korea are routine, but the North calls them rehearsals for an invasion and says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) less

A protester holds a candle during a rally denouncing the annual Foal Eagle, South Korea and the United States joint military exercise, near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 5, 2013. North ... more

Photo: Ahn Young-joon

Sound, fury fit a pattern, says senior U.S. general

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Stuttgart, Germany

North Korea's bellicose rhetoric and threats, while worrisome, appear to fit a decadeslong pattern of provocation followed by uneasy peace, the top U.S. military officer said Friday.

Dempsey's remarks suggested that he does not believe the situation is headed toward war, despite a series of threatening statements by the North, including a declaration this week that its military is authorized to launch a nuclear attack on the United States.

Other U.S. officials have said this week they see no North Korean preparations for large-scale military action, but White House spokesman Jay Carney said a missile launch wasn't unexpected.

"We would not be surprised to see them take such an action," he told. "We have seen them launch missiles in the past."

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Dempsey called the North's nuclear threat "just reckless" and contrasted such talk with what he described as measured moves by the U.S. to deter the North and to reassure South Korea.

"Our moves have been largely defensive and exclusively intended to reassure our allies," he said, referring in part to the announcement that a more advanced missile defense system, designed to knock down hostile missiles in the upper atmosphere, would be deployed to Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific that hosts U.S. forces.

The U.S. also has made a point of highlighting aspects of an annual U.S.-South Korean military exercise that included a practice bombing run over South Korea by B-2 stealth bombers, as well as flights of B-52 bombers and the presence of F-22 stealth fighter planes.